Mothproof metal clothes cabinet



NOV. 24, 1936. RINGEL MOTHPROOF METAL CLOTHES CABINET Filed April 18, 1955 ATTORNEY Patented Nov. 24, 1936 "UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Application April 18,

3 Claims.

This invention relates to devices for storing clothing and the like, and more particularly to a substantially air-tight cabinet for protecting clothing from moths and other insects.

The protecting of winter clothing and the like in the summer-time from dust and insects, has heretofore been accomplished by packing the articles in moth ball or other substances obnoxious to insects. Also, there have been provided large bags impregnated with a moth repellent compound; such bags and other expedients have been found objectionable in that frequently holes were made in the bag accidentally, allowing moths and other insects to have access to the clothing within the bag. The same objection applies to cardboard cabinets.

It is an object of this invention to provide a cabinet made of sheet metal provided with a substantially airtight door to prevent the escape of a moth repellent compound from the cabinet, and also to prevent dust and insects from entering the cabinet.

A further object is the provision of a mothproof cabinet for storing clothing and the like, which cabinet can be easily and conveniently made from sheet metal at a relatively low cost.

These and other advantageous objects, which will later appear, are accomplished by the simple and practical construction and arrangement of parts hereinafter described and exhibited in the accompanying drawing, forming part hereof and in which:

Fig. l is a perspective view of a cabinet embodying my invention,

Fig. 2 is a sectional view through the top of the cabinet and door, taken on line 22 of Fig. l,

Fig. 3 is an exploded view, in section, showing details of a portion of the top of the cabinet,

Fig. 4 is a horizontal sectional view of the cabinet, with the door in a closed position, the door being shown in the open position by dotted lines,

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a modified form of the invention in which the cabinet is provided with two doors, and,

Fig. 6 is a horizontal sectional view taken through both doors of the modified form of cabinet shown in Fig. 5.

Referring to the drawing, the cabinet is shown to comprise side walls 8, a rear wall 9, eachof which are made from single pieces of sheet metal, the side walls being connected to the rear wall by spot welding.

The forward portion of each side wall is pro- 1935, Serial No. 16,982

vided with a right-angularly directed flange l0 having the free edge thereof bent into an inwardly directed channel. I l.

The cabinet is provided with the top member l2 and the bottom member l3, each of which are formed from single sheets of metal and being substantially rectangular in shape and having flanges l4 and I5, respectively, on three sides thereof, which are connected to the side walls and rear wall by spot welding. The front of the top member I 2 is provided with a downturned flange I 6 which has its free edge bent into an inwardly directed channel I1 corresponding with and opening into the channel II. Similarly the bottom member i3 is provided with a flange It and a channel l9. Hinged to one of the side walls at 20' is a door 2|, having all four sides thereof provided with a continuous inwardly directed flange 22 adapted to enter the channels H, ii and i9. Attached to the inner surface of the door is a strip 23 of material such as rubber, canvas, or other suitable material which engages the edge 2d of the continuous channel formed by channels H, H and ii], to provide a substantially air-tight seal when the door is closed and latched in such a position.

Positioned on the inner Wall of the door is a casing 40 extending substantially the length of the door and having a partition 25 intermediate its length to hold a moth repellent compound. The casing is open at the bottom and is provided with a plurality of apertures 26 near the top thereof to allow the odors of the mothrepellent compound to circulate freely through the interior of the cabinet. The upper end of the casing is preferably as shown in Fig. 1, provided with a cap removably secured thereto.

From the above description it will be seen that I have provided a storage cabinet of relatively simple structure which can be conveniently manufactured from sheet metal to provide a device which is rugged and durable, at a relatively small cost.

Due to the manner in which the various parts of the cabinet are made, no expensive machinery is necessary in the manufacture thereof, and the various parts can be rapidly assembled and attached to each other by spot Welding.

A clothes hanger rod i2 is preferably secured to the side walls 8 of the cabinet (see Fig. l) said hanger rod also reenforces the structure.

Instead of securing a strip of material 23 to the inner surface of the door 2!, a strip 23' may be secured to the channels H, H and I9, said strip overlapping the edge 24 thereof (see Fig. 3)

so that the door 2! will close against and slightly compress said strip 23', effectively sealing the cabinet.

In Figs. 5 and 6 is shown a modified form of the invention in which the cabinet is provided with an inner door 30 and with an outer door ll. As shown in Fig. 6, the side wall 32 hasaportiou thereof bent at right angles to provide a front wall 33 having stepped portions 34 and 35, the latter having a flange 36.

The inner door 30 is provided with an inwardly directed continuous flange 31 which engages a stepped portion 35, and the door 30 is also provided with a strip 38 of rubber, canvas or a similar material which engages flange 36 to provide a substantially air-tight seal.

The outer door 3| has a continuous flange 39 which engages the stepped portion 34.

With the modified form of cabinet, a better seal is obtained and dust is practically entirely excluded.

The inner surface of the inner door 30 is provided with a casing 40 similar to the casing shown in Fig. 1 for carrying a moth-repellent compound as explained above.

While I have described above the doors of my cabinet to have flanges which enter the continuous channels formed by the side walls and top and bottom members, and the edge 24 of a wall of the channel engaging a sealing strip 23, it is apparent that other expedients for sealing purposes can be used without departing from the spirit of the invention. Instead of having a substantially U-shaped channel, a V-shaped channel can be provided to cooperate with a continuous flange on the door which has been bent into a V-shape to have a wedging action with the V-shaped channel and thus provide a tight seal.

The foregoing disclosure is to be regarded as descriptive and illustrative only, and not as restrictive or limitative of the invention, of which obviously embodiments may be constructed including many modifications, without departing from the general scope herein indicated and denoted in the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. A cabinet for storing and protecting clothing from dust and insects, having the walls and the top and bottom members thereof each made of a single piece of sheet metal and joined together by spot welding, said side walls and top and bottom members being provided with rightangularly directed flanges forming a front wall with a door opening, and said flanges bent to provide a continuous rectangular channel of U- shaped cross-section about said door opening, a door. hinged to a flange of one of the side members, said door having a continuous right-angled inwardly directed flange adapted to be positioned in the continuous channel and to abut the inner wall thereof when the door is closed, and a strip of material on the inside of the door spaced from the door flange adapted to engage the free edge of the wall of the continuous channel to provide a substantially air-tight seal when the door is closed.

2. A cabinet for storing and protecting clothing from dust and insects, having side walls and the top and bottom members provided with rightangularly directed flanges forming a front wall with a door opening, and said flanges bent to provide a continuous rectangular channel of U- shaped cross-section about said door opening, a door hinged to a flange of one of the side members, said door having a continuous right-angled, inwardly directed flange adapted to be positioned in the continuous channel and to abut the inner wall thereof when the door is closed, and a strip of material on the inside of the door spaced from.

the door flange adapted to engage the free edge of the wall of the continuous channel to provide a substantially air-tight seal when the door is closed.

3. A cabinet for storing and protecting clothing from dust and insects, having side walls and top and bottom members, the side walls and top and bottom member having right angularly directed portions forming a front wall with a door opening, and said portions bent to provide a first stepped portion and a second stepped portion, the latter having an angular reentrantly directed flange, an inner door provided with a marginal flange received within the second stepped portion and hingediy secured thereto, and a strip of material on the inside of the door spaced from the door flange adapted to engage the free edge of the reentrantly directed flange of the second stepped portion to provide a substantially airtight seal when the inner door is closed, and an outer door hinged to the first stepped portion and having a continuous flange engaging said portion.

HERMAN RINGEL. 

